I like Ittle Dew a lot more now I’ve finished it than I did at various points during playing it. But then I loved it at various points during playing it. So, well, this should be helpful… Here’s wot I think I think:>
This morning someone rated my piss. I was just minding my business when a nice man in a rather broad hat stated that he was a ‘Piss Maniac’ and that he would very much like to ‘rate my piss’. So I obliged him by pissing in the toilet next to him (I was very pleased at the angle and direction of my piss, as I am not usually a good pisser, especially not from a foot away). He was sadly silent after I had pissed, and I sort of thought perhaps I had committed a faux pas (a faux piss?). Anyway, have a good old piss in new (and completely free) first person banality simulator, Crypt World. (more…)
Tooth and Cog came to my attention just over a week ago. I dug through the cogs and gears of its steampunk backstory, impressed by the decadence of rust, and discovered words that filled me with curiosity. Those words described a strategy game set in the ruins of a metropolis brought low by technological mishaps, but fascinating as the setting is, it was Riveting Games’ analysis of multiplayer turn-based strategy that convinced me to contact them for more information. I spoke to Lead Developer and Game Designer Kerey Roper about militarised penny farthings, reconciling turn-taking with multiplayer and why mandatory backstabbing can be unpleasant.>
It’s true that I have special feelings about the original MOWAS, so to see a 2 put at the end of that strong, militaristic string of words makes a happy boy. The sequel was announced today with the promise that “Men of War: Assault Squad 2 features new single player style skirmish modes that take players from extreme tank combat to deadly sniper stealth missions.” Of course multiplayer remains at the heart of it, as DigitalMindSoft explain: “To truly bring the battles to life though there is the new 8v8 game mode designed for huge battles on spectacular maps.” Eight versus eight! Holy shit. That revamped engine had better optimise the hell out of proceedings, of there’s going to swearing at Rossignol HQ.
Men of War: Assault Squad 2 is scheduled for a “Q4 2013″ release. My oh my. Where does that leave Call To Arms? We will have to ask.
The Kiss creator and poet Dan Waber wrote to me and Porpentine with a very personal story about how the games community, specifically the Twine community and RPS readers, have embraced him more forcefully than the literature community has. I was quite moved by his candour in talking about his newest readers, and I asked him if I could publish his letter here. He said yes. Here are his words.> (more…)
Men (and women) have been At Work, Down Under, attempting to classify dildo-filled absurdity-fest Saints Row IV. They have finally… come…. to a conclusion. “In the Review Board’s opinion, Saints Row IV could not be accommodated within the R 18+ classification as drug use related to incentives and rewards is not permitted.” You better run, you better take cover. (more…)
Redshirt is the upcoming sci-fi, social network satire, in which the only way to avoid a bitter end is to earn promotion, either through talent or tact. Following an enlightening conversation with designer Mitu Khandaker, I was keen to try the game. And now I have. I’ve spent a few days attempting to survive in the world of friend requests, status ‘likes’ and careful time management. I’ve made friends, I’ve romanced lovers and I’ve met my maker. Several times.>
Plants Vs Zombies 2 looks pretty fantastic. Admittedly, I’m basing that on it being shown off by PopCap, who seem to know exactly what to do – check out that subtitle – in a video describing what’s going on the new game. But I think it’s fair to say that if the zombie-apocalypse genre ever needed a representative in the puzzle-game department, this should probably be it. (more…)
We’re not shy about admitting that Incognita has us intrigued. Klei’s turn-based stealth and espionage game looks like it could be a rare addition to the turn-based corporate-burglary genre, and it’s been shown off the first time in a livestream, which you can watch (not live, obviously) below. The in-game action begins at about eight minutes in. Permadeath! Lovely! That’s a strange thing to be pleased about.
Games are weird. (more…)
Terry Cavanagh. Jasper Byrne. Ian Snyder. Jack King-Spooner. Richard Perrin. Zaratustra. Michael Brough. Robert Yang. Alan Hazelden. Benn Powell. Jake Clover. TheBlackMask.>
You have probably played games by all of these people. VVVVVV might ring a bell. Maybe Lone Survivor or Kairo. Or, if you’re really, really cool, Blues For Mittavinda. Etc, etc, etc. You get the idea. But now they’ve all congealed into a hivemind and made one giant, multi-stage/setting/genre melting pot of madness. Each developer had three days to make a contribution, and then the next creator picked up where the previous left off. Experiment 12 is insane. Experiment 12 is inconsistent. Experiment 12 is beautiful.>